Master Sewing and Design Certification Program

Tuesday, December 31, 2013

On this final day of 2013, I've decided to share my top 5 of the year. I've really enjoyed the posts that so many of you have done and I think this is a lovely way to reflect back on what we've accomplished. To be honest, I was a little surprised as I started my journey back in time, I did more than I thought!! So, here are my picks of top five for this past year.
1. http://rhondabuss.blogspot.com/2013/01/what-to-do-with-rag-bin-sweat-shirt.html
Remember the sweat shirt that went from this,

A good year :) A very good year. Thank you for the support that you've given, be it in visiting the blog, participating in the Mary Bridge Pillowcase project, comments that you've left, supportive emails, all are gifts that you've so generously given. As I close, I'm reminded of two pieces that I love, both are from Les Brown.
Leap and grow your wings on the way down.
Refuse to live an unlived life.

Monday, December 30, 2013

While surfing around on the computer, looking for a little inspiration, I came across this article http://www.cosmopolitan.com/celebrity/fashion/weird-fashion-week-inspirations#slide-6. My first thought was, "wow, this is inspiration at its best." Now, you may not like what the designer came up with, but you must agree that the pieces are quite interesting. I enjoyed this so much and thought that you might as well, so I thought I would share it.

So you see, everything and anything can inspire something beautiful, quirky or off the wall!!!
Wishing you a wonderfully inspired day!
Rhonda
p.s. I've included a link to all of the collections, so there is a lot to look at if you choose. Hey, it's the week between Christmas and New Year's, how much work do you really need to do this week? ;) Enjoy.

This week's soup recipe is not soup!!! I found this recipe for Butternut Coconut Curry and it sounded so good that I just had to give it a try. Not only is it good, it's easy to make. Just saute the onions and carrots and then throw everything in the crock pot and let it cook. If you like curry, then I think you'll enjoy this dish.
I can't remember how I found the recipe, but it is from a site called Taste of Home. The tag line is, "best loved recipes from home cooks like you." I haven't taken the time to look around, but it seems that you can submit your own recipes to the site.
The dish looks like a porridge in the photograph, don't be fooled, it's quite hearty and especially aromatic. I did made a few additions. I added tofu, a little more salt and a good bit of black pepper. Some red pepper would also be a nice addition if you like a spicy curry. All in all, a great heartwarming dish for the winter months.Butternut Coconut Curry

Saturday, December 28, 2013

The weather in Chicago has been incredibly cold and snowy for December. We've had a few days that were a little warmer, but then it rained. So, all in all, not a good month for hanging pillowcases out on the line. When I walked out the door this morning, I couldn't believe how lovely it is, almost 39 degrees, and sunny!!! After all the extremely cold days we've had, it feels like spring! I always laugh about how in the beginning of winter when we first get into the 30's, we're all so cold. Come March or April with temps in the 30's, everyone pulls out their short pants!!!!

I have two donations to share with you and something new which will be at the end of the post.

For those of you who have followed all of the posts, you have seen my garden in every season. Because of the warms temps, most of the snow is gone. I'll try to post some pictures when we get a really big snow as the garden is so lovely under a blanket of fresh snow.

Lisa had some adorable fabrics like the circus print with Dumbo above and Holly Hobbie below. I was such a Hollie Hobbie fan :)

So lovely! Thank you Lisa for your efforts. Because of Lisa's project, I'm now thinking of organizing a project at my church. What a lovely way to pay it forward in so many ways.

The second donation comes from Willi. I did a post here on the slippers that she made for her granddaughters and their dolls. Willi combined her pillowcase making efforts with teaching her granddaughters how to sew. How sweet!

Their efforts produced 10 more pillowcases for the project.

The cases are just adorable, baseballs and monkeys...

cupcakes and sharks!!!

Thank you so much Willi for your contribution. With both Lisa's and Willi's efforts, new sewists were born and that's always a wonderful thing.

This morning I received this note;

Dear Rhonda,I had taken a blogging sabbatical (nearly eight months) and am just getting around the blogosphere again. I set about checking out all your recent blog updates when I came across this post.

It's my turn...It's my turn with what I've called "The Pillowcase Project." It's in honor of my mother-in-law who sewed pillowcases for pediatric cancer patients when her own grandson, our nephew, was also dealing with cancer last year. Fortunately Blake is back in college and cancer-free, but Mom's pillowcases inspired an idea for me...Across the street from where we live in Manila, Philippines, is a pediatric charity hospital, National Children's Hospital. Since my precious MIL is a December-month baby and just turned 80, until Thanksgiving we will accept NEW pillowcase contributions to "The Pillowcase Project" to be gifted at Christmastime 2014 to the pediatric patients at NCH.Wow. I had forgotten all about your pillowcase drive... This is soooo cool. I hope you'll share more images about the journey of the contributed cases from clothesline to Mary Bridge's. So awesome!Would you like to join "The Pillowcase Project" See my blog post at http://kelleyhighway.blogspot.com/2013/12/ethel-pillowcase-project.html.

I have been asked if I will continue with the Mary Bridge project, and my answer is no. As I said earlier in the post, it has been a wonderful and enriching experience, but I feel that I did what I was supposed to do and now it's time to move on. The Mary Bridge project has been a lesson for me in the power of positive thinking. As I've shared along the way, there have been times when I was a little unsure, but I would not give a voice to my feelings, and look at what has happened, people from all over the world have come together and over 1000 pillowcases will be shipped to Tacoma, Washington in February. Absolutely amazing.

Thank you for all that so many of you have done to make the Mary Bridge Project such a wonderful success!

I'm currently working on an 8-gored skirt version and hope to post it later today, tomorrow at the latest. Using this method makes adding a godet to a skirt easy and fun and it also gives it a little unexpected twist. Thanks so much for giving it a try Cennnetta!!! By the way, her top is a McCall's pattern. She includes the info about it in her post. It's super cute too!

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Happy Day After Christmas to everyone!!! I hope you all had a lovely holiday. I had a wonderful time, ate some good food, enjoyed the company of some good friends, and visited with my family.

Last year I shared with you a little something that has become a tradition in my home. It all started with this little ornament. I have been jealous of this little guy for as long as my husband and I have been married, well that is until 4 years ago. I think an old girlfriend gave him this ornament. Anyway, each and every Christmas, I have given my husband a ski ornament for Christmas. He now has a tree full. We've been married a long time :) Every year when I pull out all of the ornaments, I ask which is your favorite and without any hesitation, he would always say, "this guy."

He finally told me that what he liked was that it was handmade and so creative. Ahhh, the magic formula. So 4 years ago I decided to make my ornament and this is what I came up with. I need to do a little repair work as the"mustache" broke off on one side.

As you can see, it's all made out of natural seeds, pine cones and seed pods, except for the hat and scarf of course. The result, success!!! He loved it. Finally :)

The next year I made Rudolph. The story behind this guy is, after the long night of flying all over the world has come to an end, Santa tells the reindeer, "great job boys, enjoy your vacation." With glee, Rudolph straps on his skis and flies down the mountain.

His hoofs are acorn shells.

And I even found some furry little seeds for his tail.

Last year I made this little guy.His face is a peach pit that I just happened to find, the body is a black walnut and his hat is another acorn shell.

He has such a great personality.

This is this years addition. I have no idea what type of seed pod his head is made out of. It was found while I was out on my morning walk. He too has a black walnut body. His feet are horse chestnut seeds. The tiny pine cone is from a neighbor's tree. I thought it worked well as a stogie.

He was a blast to make. He also has an acorn hat, but with a little decoration. I am so happy that I was able to get the scarf to look as though he is really flying down the mountain. Sitting back and enjoying the ride ;)

I only intended to make one ornament, but as I was picking up my things, the pieces just seemed to come together and bring this little guy to life.

His head is from a sago palm and his eyes and mustache are also seeds.His backpack is a horse chestnut seed. The sticks and the baskets at the bottom are from a tree that I walked past while out with my dogs. And then of course he has pine cone leaves for his snow shoes and the tiny pine cone boots.

The entire family. My husband dropped Rudolph, so I need to find some new antlers.

My husband asked me how I come up with these little creatures as they are all so different. I told him that I really don't feel that I am the creator. They tell me who they want to be and it all just comes happens. Well, however they come together, they have become such a joy, and a true holiday tradition. Had it not been for the little clothespin guy, I don't think that any of these little guys would have ever come to life. In this case, a little jealousy was a good thing!!!

Monday, December 23, 2013

Good Morning Everyone and welcome to the final day of the December celebration!

Our first winner is...

Congratulations Carole!!! Carole blogs at http://miasews.blogspot.com/. She dances, makes the cutest tennis outfits and is an all around very energetic, on the go kind of a gal!!!
Now on to the final illustrations.

The above piece is a little over the top. That's a LOT of ruffles and gathers!
The piece below is all out femininity, a flirty circular skit, cinched waist and a little flared peplum. Lovely.

And the final winner is ....

Polda Pop, a.k.a. Lisa, blogs at http://www.poldapop.com/. She's the mom of two precious little girls and has an over the top passion for sewing. Congratulations Lisa!!!!
Please be sure to email your addresses to me so I can get your packages in the mail, sewbussted@yahoo.com.
I will leave the December Celebration posts up for the next week, but then I will delete them. As I said, they take up space that can be better used for a tutorial, I hope anyway! So if there are any of the pictures that you would like to save for inspiration, please download them.
So, that's it. Seems a bit sad to have it all said and done. At the close of the year, and especially around my birthday, I always enjoy doing something a little special. Crazy me, I've already begun to think about next year. The fact that I've already begun to fret a bit about what I could possibly do next year is a good lesson for me on letting go and just allowing things to happen. I am finding more and more that when I step back and just allow the universe, divine intervention, or whatever you would like to call it, to take over, magical things happen. So, I'm letting go and putting my order in for a little magic for next December!!!
The true magic though is the daily gift I receive from so many of you. Your comments and emails are always a delight, but the fact that you give up a few moments of your day and spend them with me is the best gift I could receive.
Thank you.
Rhonda